The Brazilian government has opened an office in San Francisco to help that country’s technology startups grow and tap into the United States market.

Startup Brasil is overseen by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Agency (Apex-Brasil) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. The office will be in one of the many rented spaces at RocketSpace, a startup community in downtown San Francisco that has been the previous home to companies such as Uber and Spotify.

The San Francisco accelerator office is meant to help Brazilian IT companies make connections and grow business in Silicon Valley, saidSergio Pessoa, the general manager of the Apex-Brasil office in San Francisco.

“The challenge in Brazil is we have a strong IT sector,” Pessoa said. “It is very well built but very (focused on) domestic sales. Less than 5 percent of the IT sales are to international markets. We want to drive the internationalization of Brazil companies.”

SFCED’s Win!

SF Chamber Welcomes Apex Brazil – The Chamber joined Brazilian government officials last Thursday for the opening of Apex-Brazil in downtown San Francisco, the agency promoting Brazilian products and services and coordinating action related to foreign direct investment (FDI). “Brazil is the 7th largest economy in the world and a valuable partner for San Francisco,” said Chamber President & CEO Bob Linscheid. “We welcome Apex-Brazil to our city and look forward to advancing our mutual goals of investment, innovation and job creation.” The Chamber’s foundation partner, San Francisco Center for Economic Development, attracted the new office to San Francisco and will continue to work with Brazilian government officials to expand trade and investment opportunities for San Francisco and Brazilian businesses. Read more.